Get smart with your phone

1. Create a longer passcode

Most iOS and Android phones give us a 4-digit password limit, but this is not your only option. You can also customise your password, using a mixture of letters, numbers and special characters to make it more secure.

iOS: If you have an iPhone, go to settings, tap on “General” then navigate to “Passcode lock”. From here, switch “Simple Passcode” off and choose “Change Passcode”. The full keyboard with all the letters and numbers will show up and your password can be a combination of anything you choose.

Android: Choose Settings, then Lock Screen, and tap on Screen Lock. Here, the full keyboard will appear and you can type out your passcode with a variation of numbers and letters.

2. Let your phone type for you

Have you ever noticed the microphone icon on your keyboard when you’re typing out a note, text, or email?

If you have an Android or iOS phone, you don’t have to physically type out your texts. The microphone icon, usually on the bottom left of your smartphone keyboard, lets you dictate your message, and the phone types it out for you. Hold the button down and click on the microphone icon.

Just make sure that you speak clearly and verbally punctuate your sentences. For example, if you want to text: “Where are you? I’m about to leave the house.”, you would dictate “Where are you QUESTION MARK I’m about to leave the house PERIOD”.

3. Take pictures with ease

iOS: Pressing the volume buttons, whether on your phone or earphones, lets you take pictures with your iPhone. This comes in very handy when you’re trying to take a selfie and are struggling to get your finger on the “capture” button on your screen.

Android: If you have an Android phone, open your camera and go to settings, then Voice Control. Switch Voice Control on and you can capture pictures easily by simply saying: “Capture”, “Shoot”, “Smile” and “Cheese” out loud.

4. Take multiple pictures at once

iOS: Tapping and holding down the capture button, or holding down the volume key on your iPhone allows you to take multiple pictures at once. Your iPhone can take up to 10 pictures per second. This is very helpful when you’re trying to capture objects in motion, or if you’re just trying to get that perfect selfie.

Android: Go to your camera app and click on the gear icon. Choose Settings and click on Burst Shot. On Android, you can also preset the number of pictures you want the camera to take.

5. Time your music

When you go to bed, sometimes you want to pass out to some smoothe sounds, but you don’t want the music playing right through the night after you’ve dozed off. Smart phones let you dictate how long you want your music to play.

iOS: Go to your clock and tap on the timer icon. Set the amount of time you want your music to play for and tap on When Timer Ends, then tap on Stop Playing. Your phone will automatically switch your music off when the time has elapsed.

Android: Simply go to Settings, tap on Music Auto-Off, then set the amount of time you’d like your music to play for.